Hungarian paprika.

[Mikedog]

Hello friends. I am a pepper lover, mostly the sweet vegetal types. I agree with Worth's comment (May 1) about North American peppers being a reasonable substitute for "real paprikas". The New Mexico State University has some very mild Chile that work well. Oh I must also say I love the cat avatar Worth uses. Looks so much like a departed companion .

[karstopography]

I really seriously doubt some home gardener in the US even by growing the same pepper plants grown in Hungary would be able to replicate the flavor profiles of the various grades of Hungarian paprika.

In my experience, anything made or produced at a small scale, homemade, home brewed, home distilled, etc. never quite tastes like some well known mass produced or widely recognized type.

Maybe the homemade is better or maybe worse or just different.

Homemade Dried peppers turned into flakes or powders are often very good, not necessarily a carbon copy of anything.

I dry Cayenne peppers and my cayenne pepper flakes and powders always taste a little different than the store bought ones. Objectively, I like mine more. Subjectively, mine are way better. The flavor is brighter with my version.

I have several times made the national chicken dish of Hungary using all quality Hungarian paprika and a blend of my own paprika and Hungarian. Delicious either way. Main thing is to get the amount of heat desired dialed in.